Small Gestures
by Genesisgoboom
Summary: Sai and Naruto take on a mission that will draw them closer to each other, Sai begins to learn about his feelings for Naruto, and Naruto shows an understanding of them that is rather unlike him. This story begins lightly, but will grow into a darker story line. be aware that if you follow, it will get a lot more intense
1. mission accepted

(This story is set just after orochimaru was killed by Sasuke, It deviates from the manga/anime, as I have been writing it for a few years in comic form, you can find it here .com. but as my work is growing, and my free time shortening, I am finding it hard to put pencil to paper, and it is faster to write then it is to draw, and so, I am documenting this story in word. Though in time the comic will continue)

Small Gestures

The village was busy as usual, Sakura stood outside Naruto's apartment complex, not in her usual attire, her hair was bereft of her forehead protector and she wore a simple red top with a black skirt, the noise and chaos around them almost swallowed up the pink haired kunichi's shouts, but never the less, she stood resolute and shouted up again. 'NARUTO!' only the wind stirring the curtains of his window gave any response. Finally the girl turned to the pale boy standing next to her.

'I don't understand this, he should be here, he hasn't to report to Tsunade for another two hours, so…' She tilted her head slightly as she saw the plain look of disappointment on Sai's face, The boy was showing more emotions now, most of which he had no concept of. The girl was not stupid by any means, not like that idiot Ino, The girl thought she had a chance with Sai, but Sakura knew better, Choji had more of a shot then that girl. 'was it important Sai?'

The pale boy looked away from her, seeming somewhat despondent as he reached a hand to touch his backpack. 'Well it… no, no it can wait.' He looked back to her and brought out the smile that she hated, she had hated it before, purely because he was lying to her with it in effort to be part of the team, but now… Now she detested it, as it meant he did not trust her with his truths… they were friends, but he still hid a lot from her. But… not from Naruto, her eyes narrowed a touch as he nodded to her slightly 'I am sorry, but I also have a meeting with Tsunade-sama, I should leave'

She watched as he began to walk away from her, only to then see him pause, turn back and look at her for a moment before speaking so softly that she almost missed what he said 'Ah yes, Thank you, Sakura… it was kind of you to help me' and with that he was gone, leaving the girl to stand alone on the crowded street.

She said his name softly, and then looked back to the window once again… no, Ino had no chance with the boy, but Naruto on the other hand, She was not stupid as was mentioned before, Far from it, she knew beyond a doubt, that Sai cared for the blond more than just teammates care for each other, more than just friends… but then… she knew all about that, at least he was not being as obvious about it as she had been with Sasuke… that thought was enough to make her blush, and hang her head in embarrassment at the same time. There was also the other issue… Naruto himself, oh she knew she did not love him love him… but… there was something, and he had never been shy about saying how much he loved her… the thought had festered.

She eventually shook her head and began back the way she came, after all, even if Sai did confess, Naruto was not that way inclined, as his protests showed when Konohamaru had made that Sai and Sasuke Jutsu… She had to laugh at that, and that memory also brought a blush to her face, but for a very different reason. 'I wonder what Naruto will do?'

[in the outlaying forests of Konoha]

There was hardly a breath in the air running through the tree's, the only sounds were of the wildlife, and even that was scarce, it was dark, and richly scented with rot and foliage, as only old forests smell, and in the midst of it all was a blond, he was hunkered down on a branch almost as thick as a tree trunk itself, his eyes were closed, and only for the bright colours he was wearing, you might not have seen him at all.

Suddenly a burst of sound erupted, and the blond moved in a heartbeat, just shy of being skewered by the blades sent his way, more then came from his left, and then after from behind, Naruto felt himself being driven, he moved forward, and if he changed route, he was forced back on track with more projectiles. He knew he had to get behind them if he had any chance of throwing of his pursuers, and so at the next branch, he aimed low and swung around it to project himself upwards, landing softly on a lighter branch he then spun and back flipped mid air, and there he was, one of five identical clones, staring up at him in shock, Naruto sent out a spray of stars, and the clone dispersed.

After landing, the other four arrived to his side, they looked as tired as he felt, he had been hours out here. He found, training with his clones was better then with some of the other ninja's, After all, it is hard to outsmart someone that knows you inside out.

He had perfected his elemental training not so long ago, and it came to him that this method was also good, as he gained more then just the pursued's experience, but also that of the pursuer.

Sitting down on the branch again, he made a seal to release his other clones, and then he closed his eyes and tried to meditate as he was shown by Jiraiya, with each breath he took he reached a little further, the wind… the trees… the giant centipede that was coiling on the fifth tree over from him, and then… there was something else. He stood, staring long and hard at a tree to his left, there was silence, even the wind seemed to die down.

The blond moved from branch to branch, stopping on the trunk of the tree he had stared at, and there he paused. He knew better than to just face whoever it was alone. After all, perhaps that was what they were looking for, Naruto was by all mean, far from weak, but if something did happen to him here, no one would find him. considering he had not told anyone he was training here… No, he knew it now, it was better to report this in then to risk himself. And so he left. He had a meeting with Tsunade as it stood, so he would not have to wait to report this.

As the blond retreated, a shadow emerged, pale face and dark hair, dark eyes that seemed dull as he watched the blond leaving. He was frowning, this boy… no, he could not think of Naruto in that way anymore, he was a man grown, just as he was himself… but… Naruto was not the same as he remembered, not just in features, but in attitude… he had only seen the last part of the ninja's training, but even that was more than he had expected… he was irritated too, after all, he was just returning to get a look at the current state of his former village, and had hoped to avoid meeting the blond entirely, but even as he prepared himself for the confrontation, the blond had left, and he was not sure if that annoyed him more than the thoughts of having to fight him. It didn't feel right to him, he had once known this boy as well as he knew himself… but now, it felt odd, not knowing him, perhaps that was why he felt so annoyed? And when Sasuke Uchiha was annoyed, he was worse than a starving dog with a bone.

meanwhile, back in Konoha

Even as he was walking through the busy streets, he began to have doubts, something had felt so familiar about that presence, but he knew that there was no point in going back either, it was better to report it, his meeting with Tsunade was in an hour, so he could do it then, and receive his next mission, though it was only meant to be a b rank, it would be a nice change of pace. 'NARUTO!' The blond looked up out of his reverie and saw Shizune looking at him , her smile was bright and she rushed over to him, grabbing his arm.

'Shizune?' He was about to report to her, but she cut him off. 'Naruto, where have you been? We went looking for you but you where nowhere to be found' Naruto raised his eyebrows and tried to report in about the presence he had felt, but again found himself cut off 'Yes yes yes, you can tell us about it once we get to the office. Tsunade has been waiting for you'

Naruto followed, but he looked rather confused, 'Waiting on me? But my meeting is not for another-' Shizune waved a hand impatiently. 'less talk more moving, your meeting is cancelled, this is a mission' The woman jumped ahead of him then, with no further explanation, and Naruto had no choice but to follow, leaping from roof to roof till he made his way to the oval offices where Tsunade spent most of her day.

Once in the office, Shizune announced there arrivals, and as to be expected, Tsunade snapped at him straight away, Naruto recoiled slightly, and instantly began to explain that he was training in the forest, but just like Shizune, she cut him off, and it was beginning to try his patience. That was, until he noted her tone, she was rather serious, and so he remained quiet.

'Naruto, You and Sai are to depart on a special mission, our options are limited as we have only scant reports to go on, but from those, it has been deemed an 'S' class'

S class missions usually denoted a four man team at least, but… 'just Me and Sai?' Tsunade nodded to him and continued 'I would rather it be a larger group, but this is infiltration, not outright attack.' Naruto was frowning now, infiltration was not one of his strong points. 'Grandma, I am not really…. I don't blend into shadows well, Sai might, but why not send the anbu?'

Tsunade tsked loudly. '6 anbu have been sent out, only one returned, with no information other then the point he was attacked, and not knowing where the others where. After that, I began to look at the victims, of our s class ninja's, only you and Sai fit the profiles we need.'

Naruto moved closer to her desk then, trying to get a better look at the papers laid out on it 'Profiles? What kind of mission is this?' Tsunade turned a page towards him, and then spread out more than a dozen pictures. 'Missing children, for little over a year now, we have been receiving requests to find missing children, the reports were scattered, so we had never linked them together, but soon the rate grew, no matter how many scouts we would send, we could never find any trace. Until today. Two hours ago, our anbu that returned gave us the information we needed. A Location. There is an outlying village four weeks march from here, it was reported that many of the missing children were lost in this area or its surrounding lands, but none were found in the town itself.'

She handed another sheet of Paper to Naruto as she began to explain.

'Naruto, you and Sai will pose as travellers, Sai is an artist, and you are his friend, you go from town to town looking for work, you will not present yourself as Ninja, no ninjutsu, no weapons, and if you must fight, keep it basic.'

Naruto looked up from the paper. 'We are to pretend to be helpless?' The older woman nodded and continued speaking 'Leave your forehead protector here, also your necklace as that is directly linked to the leaf and could be recognized. Naruto, I can not stress the importance of this…'

Blue eyes locked to her honey toned browns and he nodded slowly while removing this konoha leaf. 'Don't worry granny… I won't Fail.'


	2. Intentions shown

Leaving his protector behind was strange, but it was not the first time he had been without it, after all, he did not sleep with it on him at night, and if he was not on duty, he wouldn't wear it, but that was by choice, knowing he could NOT wear it, left his head feeling bare, but it was his neck that felt the strangest.

Seeing as he always wore that necklace ever since he won it, not having it there made him feel almost naked, he just could not shake the feeling off him, he ran a callused hand through his bright golden hair and let a sigh escape slightly parted lips, perhaps it was the distraction of it that made the shrouded figure watching him in the alley go un-noticed, it might also have been the reason he almost crashed into Sai in the market.

'Naruto?' The dark haired boy regarded him somewhat shocked, Naruto looked at him and brought out a smile. 'Has granny talked to you about our two-man mission too? Bit weird, just the two of us, but I can see why it needs to be done, though not having our skills' For the moment Sai seemed a bit confused, but after a moment he nodded to the blond, and in response to it feeling weird, once again he nodded. 'yes, it is weird I suppose…'Even though he was responding to him though, Naruto felt there was something off in Sai's tone… well more so then usual… 'Sai… are you… okay?'

For Sai, this was more difficult then he thought it would be, when he had planed this, he had hoped to have Sakura with him, the girl seemed to know about the subtleties of emotions far better then he did, understandably so he conceded, so he planned on having her as his backup on this, so he did not make a mess of it. But with her not present, he had to refer back to the book that Kakashi-san had given him.

_First…smile_… 'I wanted to see you earlier, but I could not find you' he tried to produce a cheerful smile, but his nerves were grating and he felt tense all over, the result was less than desired, so before he got to finish his pre-prepared speech, Naruto interrupted him with 'Sai, that smile is kind of creepy' his face fell, and everything he had planed to say went from his mind in a blank. 'it.. it is?' perhaps Naruto felt sorry for him, it must have been obvious that he had grown flustered, but Sai found the blond laughing and telling him to relax and explain why he was looking for him in the first place.

But it was not that easy, he tried to remember the book, he knew there was a lot he had added and taken out, and readjusted himself, but he could not remember any of it, only that the book instructed to take the other person by the hand, and look deep into their soul. Sai took Naruto's hand, and frowned, he did not have any kind of eye technique to look into another persons soul, and so, he ended up gripping a bit harder than he intended, and just stared at Naruto as he tried to remember the next part.

That was where Kakashi stepped in, 'holding hands I see' Naruto jerked back away from him protesting that they weren't holding hands at all, and Sai looked at Kakashi with a ponderous gait, after all, he had given him the book, so perhaps he could help him in this situation. 'Kakashi-san, I seem to be having difficulties figuring out the book that you loaned me' He furrowed his brow a bit and then looked to Naruto. 'I do not appear to be doing it correctly'

Kakashi looked blankly at the raven for a moment, and then something seemed to click in his features, 'Oh! That book! the book I gave you that is clearly not in any way unsuitable for you!' Sai nodded to him with a small real smile, completely clueless as to why Kakashi felt the need to state that. 'Yes Kakashi-san, I am giving Naruto his gift today.' Sai was oblivious to the panic stricken look Naruto had donned, and continued on even when Naruto questioned the word _gift_. After all, Naruto knew about Kakashi's books, and had every reason to worry. But as Sai began peeling off his backpack, he continued to explain. 'Yes Naruto, A gift, according to Kakashi-san's book, when choosing a gift, it should be thoughtful but also of use to the recipient.' Sai had placed his bag to the ground, and was easing something out of it just as Naruto began to say that there was no need to give him anything, but this did not seem to stop the dark-haired ninja from pressing a box into the blonds hands.

'No, I missed your birthday last month, in truth, I did not understand the concept, as I have never had one myself, so I asked Sakura about it, and she explained that when a friend, or someone important in your life has their birthday, you give them a gift to celebrate another year of being with them. I had argued that as ninja, we should celebrate each and every day, as we could die on any mission. And she hit me and told me that it was a special day, and I should just _shut the hell up and accept that'_

Naruto could not help but laugh at the thought of that, but he also felt oddly guilty too, Sai could not have meant it, but in just saying I have never had one myself, it made his heart break a bit, being around Sai always brought up a mix of emotions… He looked down on the box, and quietly thanked his friend, but even as he was opening the gift, he was thinking what it might be, Sai had said something useful to the receiver right? And knowing the boys want to tease him for being dickless, he would not be surprised if it was a strap on or something just as perverted… And the worst part of it was, sometimes he wondered if Sai really did think he was under equipped, and then, it frustrated him to even realise that he was wondering that! Why should he care what the boy thought to begin with!

All those thoughts began stirring around inside him in an instant, and he prepared himself to be angry, so when he opened the box full to pull out a plainly designed Ramen bowl, the blond could not help but look back at Sai in shock. The look seemed to trigger something, as Sai began explaining almost immediately.

'I had noticed, on the few occasions I had visited your apartment, that there were a lot of empty Ramen cups in your house, and on further investigation, you did not seem to have any tools to make a healthier variety then instant. I was concerned for your health, but I did not know what to buy to improve this, I knew you had a few pots, though they looked unused, so I hoped, that in buying you a bowl, you might make some ramen from home. I also asked at the stall we visit, if he could teach you how to eat better… I do not know if it was the right sort of gift? But…'

There seemed to be a slow dawning coming over Kakashi's face as he listened to the situation unfolding, and Sai was falling back onto the words of the book.

'Do you like it?'

Even as Sai had spoken those words, and Naruto had nodded in agreement, Kakashi knew instantly which of the books (as he had actually give the boy a few) Sai was re-enacting, there was a short horrific pause then, as Naruto said he loved it, and Kakashi got the image of a man giving the thumbs up and saying _'good! Now it's the time to kiss your girl!' _But that was not good at all.

Time seemed to halt, Sai was moving over to Naruto, and Kakashi knew he should stop the boy, he knew he should pull him back and save the embarrassment that would follow, this was a crowded market place, Naruto would freak out, Sai had gone to a lot of trouble to find the right gift, and his intentions were sweet. He had to save this situation before it was ruined.

But just as he was about to intervene, Sai was smiling brightly at Naruto, a smile the gray-haired jounin had never witnessed before, and he found himself frozen as Sai placed the lightest kiss to Naruto's cheek, this in turn causing the blond to jump back a mile (not literally), and gawk at the other… the timing seemed to be perfect, as it was just in that moment that Sakura had turned the corner.

'The book said I should kiss you. Was that not right?'

Oh though Sakura had not seen the kiss, just the words made her smile. Her cheeks flushed and she looked from Sai to Naruto, had Sai actually kissed the blond? And Naruto… he was just… her green eyes widened slightly, Naruto was not screaming at him, he was not flailing about, he was just holding to a bowl in his hands and getting redder by the second.

Kakashi seemed to be trying to sneak away as Sakura drew closer to the group of them 'Now now Sensei, I think you have something to explain here… Why did Sai kiss Naruto?' though as soon as she spoke, Naruto seemed to break out of his daze, and he went pale as anything, he looked at Sai for another moment, and then fled from them.

Sakura followed him with her eyes for a while, but when she looked back to Sai, he looked as though his world had just crumbled about him, What the hell just happened? She moved over to the boy and placed a hand to his shoulder, and then gasped slightly as she realised… tears were brimming in his eyes. Sai was almost crying! The girl felt at a loss, she turned to ask Kakashi what had happened, but her elder had gone, leaving the pink haired girl to deal with a very distraught ninja who seemed to be having his very first break down.

'I do not understand, I followed the guide, and it was the same, when I presented the gift, he said the same thing as the book had said he would. Did I not do it right? Should I have kissed his lips?'

Sakura just watched as Sai began to outwardly display his thoughts, and it began to come clear to her just what had happened.

'Perhaps I was wrong? I thought if I kissed him like that, he would be angry at me, so on the cheek seemed to be the safer way, maybe that was insulting? He looked insulted, perhaps I should explain to him I didn't mean to-'

Sakura put a hand over his mouth and shook her head with a small smile 'Sai, you should not have kissed him at all…' he had a book in his hand by now, and he was looking to the pages of it as he had been speaking, she took it from him and glanced down at the pages. A wash of anger spread over her features for a moment, and she knew why Kakashi had fled the area. She looked back to Sai who seemed more than a little lost, her instinct was to help him, but there was something in the back of her mind wanting to leave him clueless too. And she might have done just that, had he not said…

'I knew you could help me… I should have waited to give him the gift when you were there… what should I do Sakura?'

The girl felt defeated, she knew she could not refuse him, and so she began walking with him towards his apartment so they could have a good long talk about his feelings for Naruto, and why Naruto might not like the actions he had taken.

[meanwhile]

From the shadow of a building, another had been watching the scene, oh he knew it was risky, coming into the village this way, but no one was bothering with him, the henge helped with that though, but still, he did not want to get to close… observing them, made him wonder for a moment. No he did not miss his team, but he did not like that he was replaced… and with that boy.

Oh he noticed how similar they looked at first, but, the replacement was weak, he knew it. He had faced him before. Though they never got to truly fight, just what did the boy think he could do with ink puppets? And now this? This open display of emotions. And what was with Naruto's reaction? A different image came to mind, they were in school and Naruto was challenging him, some boy bumped him forward and they ended up kissing. It was annoying, and Naruto had flailed and screamed and protested as the girls in the class beat him up, but that situation was different… and When Sakura asked why they kissed, Naruto had not denied it, he just… ran away, and that caused another wave of annoyance for the Uchiha. Not that he could explain why, but the acceptance of this boys affections irritated him.

He watched Sakura lead the boy away and moved back to the open market place scowling… he had time before he went in search for his team… he had already told himself that he would be fully prepared before facing his brother… that meant breaking all ties. And if he did not find the reason for these feelings and cut them, he would not be able to say he was prepared… and so, he decided that he would follow them on this mission they had been given.

* * *

_And so ends another chapter, anyone who read the comic might be thinking... 'hey wait... this isn't the same as the comic...' and you would be right! when I first started the comic, I did not fully understand the delicacy needed to form a good grounding for a friendship, or relationship in a story. at this point in the comic, Sai had full on kissed Naruto, Sasuke had witnessed it all from very close up (which was ridiculous now that I think on it) and Sakura thought it was konohamaru messing around again and punched Sai after she found out it was really him. All in all, very rushed, forced, and fangirlish of me. something I won't be repeating here._

_Though that is not to say it won't have it's moments of squee! but be warned, in later chapters, it will also be having moments of pretty dark stuff... if you follow this, don't say I didn't warn you XD_


	3. Stop interrupting me!

A lot of people would say he had run away, other might have said that he was unusually quiet, some people might have even suggested that it was not Naruto at all, and there had been so many people, it did not matter that no one seemed to be paying attention to what had happened, in Naruto's mind, everyone was watching, and judging.

Just what the hell was Sai thinking? And what the hell was he thinking? Naruto knew he should have reacted, he knew he should have screamed at the boy, called him a pervert, something! But, it didn't feel perverted, that was the major issue he was having here, the kiss was light and caring and…real. Sai really meant it.

Naruto looked down at his backpack and frowned, in his absent minded packing, he had placed Kunai, scrolls, throwing stars and a few other things that he was not meant to into his bag. And even at that, he was at a loss as to what to do about it. He finally came to the realisation that he should unpack when a light knocking came to his door.

He looked at the door in silence until another light knock came to it, only then did he half whisper 'it's open'. No sooner did he say the words than the door opened and Sai walked into the room, Naruto tried and failed to hold back the frown, this causing the dark haired boy to frown in return.

'Naruto..' Sai began to speak, but Naruto just stood up and emptied out his bag onto his bed, all the weapons poured out, and he sighed loudly as he began to pack other things, food, fresh underwear, money, he took a few simple knives, for hunting, matches, a water flask… all in silence as the other watched him, the silence tough, was grating on his nerves, and he picked up the bowl that Sai had given him and turned to face him.

"Sai, don't get me wrong I like the bowl, and you have the right idea but" It was Sai's turn to cut him off 'I know Naruto, Sakura' But Naruto had been cut off two much for one day, and as though all his frustration burst, he ended up screaming at the boy to shut up and let him finish! "Sai! Look! You don't know half the bloody things you are doing are wrong, I get it! I get it, but I am allowed to be freaked okay! We are going on a mission, and all I can think of is why the hell I am freaking out! So give me a break and stop telling me you have figured shit out when I don't have a fucking clue what's going on with me right now alright?!"

"alright" That was all Sai could say to that, seeing as he did not follow it that well at all, but Sakura had warned him about it, she had said he would be angry at him, and scream, but it was better to let him scream now and get it out, rather than him exploding during the mission. It made him envious, Sakura knew the blond so well, and Sai… for him, they were still worlds apart, he brought about his smile, and that just got him yelled at again. "Don't do that!' when Sai asked in a rather confused voice 'what?', still holding the smile, and Naruto replied with 'Don't show me that smile. If you are angry, be angry, if you are sad, be sad, I never want to see that lame ass excuse for a smile from you, you hear me?"

Sai did hear him, and the smile melted away to misery, and he hung his head. "I apologize Naruto, I only intended to make you feel better…" but the raven had no idea how too, emotions were so complicated, that he sometimes regretted ever reawakening them… but then again, he was here to try and discover what it meant to have bonds, it had not been that long since Sasuke had killed Orochimaru, nor very long since Naruto had helped in avenging Asuma's murder, he was learning more and more about these 'bonds' and how important they seem to be. For instance, Naruto, in wanting to 'save' Sasuke, had grown exponentially stronger with his new technique, Sasuke on the other hand, from reports, just barely beat Orochimaru in his weakened state.

There was definitely something powerful about having these bonds, and he wanted to form them, but it was not as easy as he had thought it would be, he was trying with nicknames, he was dropping suffix' he was trying to learn new ways to be friendly with his team, but they all seemed to be failing him.

Naruto did not seem to know how to reply to him, and once again the atmosphere turned heavy, Sai was unsure if he should stay or go, he was here to apologize, and he had done that, yet just leaving seemed wrong. But just staying in silence was not helping either, and he had his own packing to do, and so he turned and opened the door.

"Sai…" He stopped moving and just listened, the silence then seemed to stretch longer, even though it only took a few seconds for him to continue. "You're going?"

The question made him turn to look at the blond, Naruto was ready, he had his back pack on him, and his face was calm now. Sai furrowed his brow, but nodded to the blond. "Yes…" He did not wish to express how awkward he felt, he did not want to try and explain how he did not understand how to fix this situation, and so he simply said "I still have to prepare for my mission"

This on the face of it, seemed like the best way to escape, yet as expected of Naruto, he did something unexpected. "I will walk you back" Sai did not expect that, yet he could not refuse him. The walk back through the village was not so bad, Naruto seemed to have cheered himself up by mourning having to leave the village again, he was speaking on how he would not have his Ramen out on the road, and how he would have to wait to be shown how to make it, that last part had made Sai smile, and by the time they reached his apartment, they were both relaxed.

It was another power Naruto had that Sai did not really understand, when he was around him, he always felt so… happy? He supposed that was the best way to describe it, he felt happy, as he opened his door, he began apologizing right away for the mess, Naruto did not seem to care however, as he made himself right at home by going straight to the paintings on the walls. As he was doing that, Sai began to put together all the things he would need to bring with him, it was after a while that he heard Naruto make a shocked sound. Turning, Sai saw Naruto holding up a dress, he was looking at him in a disgusted way, and it resulted in the raven chuckling.

"It was for a mission Naruto, Have you never needed to cross dress for a mission?" another chuckle escaped him when Naruto seemed to be looking at him in horror as he realised the gravity of his statement. "Not many in Root are female, and even those that are, did not have the right look about them. I kept the dress as it has fine craftsmanship, the design is beautiful, I assure you, I do not wear it casually'

This seemed to relax the blond slightly, though for Naruto, that was not the real issue troubling him, as at first, the thought of Sai wearing a dress was amusing, and it would give him fuel to combat the penis jokes, but as he imagined the boy in the dress, the result was not as funny as he thought it would be. "Well, just, just don't dress like that around me" Sai seemed to find the thought ridiculous as he would have no reason to do so on the mission, he was as clueless as ever, but Naruto himself was thankful for that.

It did not take long for Sai to finish packing, with Naruto complaining all the while that it was not fair that he got to take his scrolls, seeing as they are his weapons, and Sai explaining his cover was that of an artist, so having scrolls was acceptable, and that even though he had them, it was not like he could use them right away, as they were both supposed to be civilians.

Naruto was impressed with Sai's ability to stay calm about not being able to use his skills, and began another rant, this evolving on the walk, and halfway to the front gate they had moved onto the subject of Shikamaru, he was speaking on how he had started smoking and how he looked so manly because of it, through out it all, Sai had just been smiling and nodding or saying a few words here and there, but now, he stopped in his tracks. "Naruto, please excuse me, I left something behind, I will meet you at the gate."

Separating, Sai began to backtrack until he was out of sight of Naruto, it was not until he was absolutely sure that the blond was not following him, that he turned off and began making his way to the gate along a different route, he had felt the presence following them ever since he had first left Naruto's apartment, he had almost made it to the gate when he met a familiar face in an unfamiliar environment.

"Sakura-chan" The pink haired girl turned to face him, and she smiled to him softly "Sai-kun, what are you doing? I thought you were meant to be going with Naruto?" Sai smiled softly "Yes, I am about to meet him, you see, I just thought I would come talk to you first" Sakura smiled a bit brighter and asked what he wanted to talk about, That was when Sai moved closer.

"Well, first I was wondering why we were being followed you see, and for a moment, I was considering why Sakura would be hiding from us… But then, you are not Sakura, I am not sure who you are, but I will tell you this. Sakura doesn't know about this mission, though she is due to meet us at the gate, Also, she should be now wearing green hairclips in her hair, as I gifted them to her recently. Sakura also never refers to me as Kun. Your intel is too poor to imitate her, you should release your henge and make your intentions known"

Sai remained calm as the impostor weighed her options, and as she raised her hands, as though to release the henge, Sai prepared himself for what might come, but before the disguise was released, the impostor vanished, Sai thought for a moment to give chase, but seeing as he was almost at the gate, he opted instead to rendezvous with his team and ask Sakura to report his encounter to the hokage.

[Elsewhere]

Sasuke clenched his fist in frustration, to be talked down to by someone like him, his intel was poor… it frustrated the Uchiha to no end. Sakura had always referred to him as Kun, and Naruto sometimes got the honorific, so it stood to reason for him that Sakura would have done the same with Sai, but it seemed that that was not the case. This was another cause of irritation to him. Had his former team grown so weak as to casually accept someone like him into their ranks to the point of being so friendly?

Did he care?

Obviously he did care, he was still not strong enough, he thought he had let it all go, but bothered him, Even when they had fled from the hideout, Orochimaru's words had irritated him. Let them take care of the Akatsuki, he had over heard how strong this group his brother was a part of was, and yet, Orochimaru had acknowledged Naruto with enough faith that he would be able to kill them.

And it seemed his faith was repaid, as he had heard how the 'hero's had returned after beating two more of the akatsuki' Two of them. Orochimaru would speak on him not being ready to face just one of them. He knew he would need to gather a team, but he was not yet sure on his final listing… all except one… and as he pictured Suigetsu, it was not the skills he possessed that came to mind… it was the stupidity, how report described him as being powerful, but too loose of mouth to be of any real use.

And despite himself, he smiled as he realised, that that, was just how he used to think of Naruto.

A/N

Ah Sasuke… you might find that I express a side to the emo ninja that you do not agree with, but please understand, that this is how I see Sasuke, in truth, the team he formed, to me seem a lot like team seven. Jugo is really chilled like Kakashi, but has a destructive side also, Karen is a love freak, like Sakura was, and hey look at that, good charka control and healing arts(not that Sasuke knew about the healing side at that point) And Suigetsu… Ah Suigetsu you wonderful freak you, He gets on Karens nerves, just like Naruto did with Sakura, he is over friendly, loud, obnoxious, and well, if he was in the leaf, him Naruto and Kiba might make the best/worst bunch of friends EVER!

You might find my analyzing the manga through this fanfiction. But as I say, this is purely my take on it, if you do not agree, I respect that, but in return, please respect my views also. Thank you.


	4. Worriers

**Sakura**

It was not like she didn't have her reasons to be worried, after all, even if Naruto wasn't being followed, when he lost control, he turned into… well, it was not even worth thinking about. But despite her protests, Tsunade did not seem to think it necessary for her to join her team mates.

"Sakura, Do you think I am incapable at my job?" the words send shivers down the girls spine, she knew now, no matter what she answered, she had lost this round, Tsunade was not going to let her join Naruto and Sai on their mission, But despite herself, she found herself replying anyway.

"Tsunade-sempai, you know that isn't what I meant!" Sakura frowned, it was frustrating, how could she explain it? But before she said anything else, a teasing tone wafted to her ears and despite herself, she found herself blushing "Oh, would you have preferred it to be just you and Naruto then?" her mentor was grinning at her in what she could only think of as a perverted way and Sakura found herself getting redder still as her teacher continued "Naruto has gotten strong recently, I am sure his body-" Sakura slamed her fist down on the table, it resulting in Tsunade laughing, the woman had struck a cord, but… "That's- That's not the only reason why!"

Had she just said only reason? The horror must have been clear on her face, as it resulted in Tsunade laughing again, but she was sure she could cover it up by stating the real reason she was here. "Sai said they were being tailed in the village, and Naruto is being targeted by the akasuki, leaving him unprotected like this… I mean, even if he is strong, when he goes out of control, Tsunade sama! Sai will be at risk too!"

Tsunade sobered up, if only for a second, and then looked to the window, a man was sitting in it, his face covered by an anbu mask of plain design, dark bangs fell forward and his hair was long, but tied back in a low pony, Sakura stared at him for a while, and then looked to Tsunade, she had not noticed the man arriving, and Tsunade did not seem concerned about it "Sakura, this is Preacain, he will be watching over Naruto, As you might have noticed, he is very good at hiding his presence, considering he has been here the whole time"

The whole time? Sakura's eyes widened, and she looked back to where he was, only to find him gone, without thought she spun to search for him, a kunai in her hand, only to find him standing beside Tsunade "Sakura calm down, He is an elite guard, though it has been a while since you have been recalled for duty right?" the man only nodded, and then looked to Sakura "I apologise if I startled you, I merely came to retrieve my orders, you were in a meeting, so I did not wish to interrupt…" The man placed one hand to his hip and tilted his head slightly "but it really seems like you're jealous… Godaime, is Naruto that way inclined?"

Sakura snorted and quickly rebuffed the comment with a 'HELL NO' that just got the two of them laughing at her, Tsunade finished chuckling first and handed something to the Anbu. "Contact them when it is safe, we have reason to believe he is being followed, make sure that that situation is neutralised also." She then smiled to Sakura and continued "Naruto is important to both of us, even if she is jealous, it might not be for the reason you think, after all… its hard to let your teammates go, when all you want to do is protect them… but no, Sakura, I have something better to show you, I want to teach you something new that might help you in the future"

**Naruto**

It was not the first time he was out with just one other person, he had spent years alone with Jiraya, so when he first thought about the travelling, he thought it would be fine, just two guys travelling to a town together, nothing strange, nothing unusual… but as they travelled, he realised that it was not the same.

Two days on the road, that was all, and already it was beginning to feel weird for him.

It was not that Sai was doing anything purposely to do it, in fact, if anything, it was the opposite, It seemed that Sakura had talked to Sai about how to behave around him, And even when they met at the gate, she asked Sai if he had shouted at him, and Sai smiled sheepishly saying that he had.

Naruto frowned to himself as he watched Sai was setting up the fire, why did it annoy him that Sai was getting advice on how to behave around him? Why did Sai even care? Sakura always did whatever the hell she wanted about him, even Sasuke had done the same, this though… it felt so fake, it felt like being around the old Sai that was hiding everything from them; as the first crackle of fire began to spread, Naruto stood and moved over to the pale boy.

"Sai…" Dark eyes rose to meet his own and his blond brow furrowed a bit more as he tried to figure out just what it was he was trying to say. "… When you… What you…" He groaned and folded his arms over his chest and turned to walk away; annoyed at himself for not knowing what it was exactly that he wanted to ask, but even as he reached the tree he had been sitting at previously, he heard Sai following him to that spot slowly.

"Naruto… Are you still angry at me?" His blue eyes widened slightly and his lips parted a little in disbelief; angry? Where had he gotten that notion from? It was Sai that had become closed off, but the dark haired boy continued and it became a bit more clear "You haven't really spoken to me at all in the two days we have been travelling together; I am not sure of the reason and I have been thinking on the things Sakura told me; following her advice I have avoided making you uncomfortable and refrained from making any comment that might be deemed as out of line, but I think that perhaps I am doing something wrong, I can not figure it out"

Had he? Had he really not spoken to him in the whole time they had been travelling? Naruto thought back on the journey, and he realised he had not; it was so unlike him! The blond looked down as he tried to find something to say, and in the end he could only manage "What was it she said to you?"

He could see Sai moving back over to his bag; he pulled out a book from it before he returned to the blond "I wanted to explain to you in your apartment, I had been reading this book in effort to find a gift for you, Sakura told me that though the book was right in what I should have looked for; it was wrote for people who like each other, I was confused at first, but I think I have figured it out."

Naruto took the book from him, and read the page that Sai had pointed out, and then he laughed slightly "Sai, This book is to help you find a girlfriend, you only do this with people you want to date" he stopped laughing as he looked at Sai; his face was so serious "Sai… you don't mean…" Sai only smiled to him then and spoke softly "It is alright Naruto; Sakura explained to me already that you only like girls, so I will refrain from being too affectionate, or getting too close to you"

A hint of colour spread over his cheeks as he realised the implications of Sai's words; yes they were very to the point, but in the reality of it; that was a confession. Naruto swallowed lightly and shook his head "Sai, you just, just do what you want to do, you get it, so it's fine; besides it's weird having you be so polite with me"

In retrospect; Naruto began wishing he had not said that, sure, Sai went back to his normal self, but now he was hyper aware of that normal self; little things of like how he would sometimes sketch him while they were resting, or how he would lean across him to get something instead of just going around, the thought of him eating at the Ramen shop even came back, Sai had tried to feed him, did he know what it had meant to do that back then? Had he been trying to win his affections?

And the worst of it was, Sai seemed to be oblivious to it all! The boy really did just go back to being how he was before; obliviousness included. Naruto groaned slightly at the memory of him checking the map the night before, and how he could not figure out where they were, and Sai, instead of standing beside him and pointing it out, took to pressing against his back and almost hugging him as he began to point out the directions.

And there were other things.

Since when did Sai have such nice hair? They had been a week into the travel now, and Naruto found himself looking at Sai's hair one night; it was so dark that he had thought it black at first, but as the fire had been reflecting on I, he noticed it was brown, not black, a really rich brown; After that he began noticing other details, his eyes were truly black, not the dark browns or almost blacks you found in other people, but onyx, and his skin was so pale it might as well have been made of the paper he painted on.

This attention to detail also brought up another problem. Naruto; despite being confident in himself, and despite the fact that Sai had already seen him naked many times; now felt uncomfortable stripping around him. Washing was becoming a bit of a problem. And Sai, well Sai just did not seem to care, but in his usual fashion, was taking it up entirely the wrong way

Naruto groaned again as Sai took him out of this depressing thoughts by dropping his shirt to the ground beside his feet, They had found a small fall in a stream that made for an ideal shower, and Sai was taking advantage of it, Leaving Naruto sitting at the edge of the brook to just watch, and no matter how he tried, he could not help but feel like he was a peeping tom. Sai didn't seem to notice this, and so when he turned to look at him, his words did not match Naruto's inner thoughts at all. "It is not that cold Naruto, you won't have to worry about it getting any smaller"

It took a moment to figure out what Sai was talking about, and a further moment to get angry at him; his scream could be heard for a mile off "YOU'RE THE PERVERTED ONE HERE!" And Naruto stormed away, oblivious to the smile on Sai's face.

**Sai**

Sai was not nearly as clueless as Naruto thought, it was clear to see how uncomfortable the blond was, though it was hard to figure out what to do about it, Naruto had told him to act as he would normally, and so he was doing as he was told, despite the fact that it seemed to be making things worse, not better; and despite the fact that Sai knew that Naruto did not like men in a sexual way, he was noticing that Naruto was looking at him more. It was strange, but he did not make any comment on it.

But one thing he was beginning to notice, much to his dismay, was that Naruto had stopped washing, at first, he had assumed it was because he did not want to strip in front of him, but after thinking it through, that reason was cast aside, after all, Sai had seen him naked many times before, and there would be nothing different about him now, so there must have been another reason.

After being shouted at while he was washing in the stream, Sai could not help but smile at the reaction, he had of course done it on purpose, wanting to get Naruto to go back to himself, even if it did mean to have him screaming at him, and after that, he began making quips at him from time to time, just to get a rise from him… But the lack of bathing was baffling him; He had thought of a few reasons, perhaps he lacked in clothing, but after an inspection, he found that Naruto had packed plenty; he had also brought towels and cleaning products; so it was not that.

In the end, Sai decided it must have been the cold; there was no other explanation for his behaviour. Though that brought about the new problem of; what could he do about it? It was already mid November, and camping out was getting tough; it had not been raining, so that was a plus, but there was a sharp wind picking up, and some mornings; even he did not want to wash, but if it went on any longer, it would be unhealthy for his companion, and so, one night he sat down with the map, pouring over it to find the nearest town they cold stop off into.

He had brought along some of his savings, they had planned to stay out for the most part, so he had not brought a lot, but it would be enough for at least two nights indoors, if he planned the route right, they would be able to spread it out over the journey.

Naruto came back into their camp with two foul for supper and handed one to Sai, to clean out, as he was plucking out the feathers, he noticed a small marking on the map, and he smiled to himself. "Tomorrow we head out early, there is somewhere I want to go" Naruto looked up at him, and he noted that yet again, the blond seemed to be looking directly to him; this was new, seeing how he would usually get distracted so easily. "Where are we going?"

Sai smiled and poked a finger at the map "there is a hot springs not to far from where we are" He had thought that that would make Naruto happy, but blue eyes seemed to go a tad wider, and his skin seemed to pale; before the protest could be issued however; Sai put a stop to it "I know you have not been washing as you are afraid it catch a chill; being sick would hinder the mission, your system has been weakened since you used your new jutsu, so I can understand your caution, but there is also a risk to infection when you are not cleansing properly. I am here to support you Naruto, if I have to drag you there kicking and most likely screaming. I will."

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_Thank you for reading! Reviews are welcome as always!_


	5. Don't read into things

_This one is a bit harder to write I am finding as I am needing to switch between both POV's but the parts are too short to split between chapters, and unlike To the dance, they are in the same area, so it feels a bit odd... if you think I should remove the headers and just write it out while switching POV let me know in feedback. Thanks!_

Also, i know this is a quick update, but i was inspired and had free time, i am working next week, so I might not have the time to write, but i will try to keep them coming weekly

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**Sai**

It had surprised Sai to find a hot springs so far out, but apparently it was a popular venue during the summer, and even now; during the winter months, there were one or two people staying over, He ordered a large enough room that had a nice living space and an open fireplace, the owners made him pay upfront and he asked if he could work off some of the fee too, Naruto seemed not to be taking this in though and strangely looked like he was trying to formulate an escape route.

The lady running the establishment looked over a few of Sai's drawings and then told him to follow her, Sai looked back to Naruto then and smiled to him softly "This should pay for a good room Naruto, can you put our things away?" the blond looked sullen but nodded none the less, and Sai just nodded in return to him and followed the woman. "Excuse me miss, But I think my friend might be running a temperature, if possible, could we have some tea also?" The woman frowned at him and said "I suppose you will want to work that off too?" Sai gave her a sheepish (or as best as he could manage) smile, and she just clucked at him and showed him to the womans changing rooms

**Naruto**

What was he going to do? The whole walk here Sai kept looking at him, and checking on him, and with the bush that kept appearing on his face, Sai was now convinced he was sick, which he wasn't, but Naruto saw him reading a book he brought with him, and then right after that came over to check his tempeture by pressing his forehead against his, And stupidly Naruto swatted him away calling him a pervert, and Sai's explanation of just being concerned made him feel so guilty he just wanted to dig a hole to die in.

This was so stupid!

Naruto put there things on the floor and flopped down on it with a light thud, the thing that was frustrating him was that he knew he did not like Sai in that way, he couldn't, so it was not even a consideration, all his life he had like Sakura, and only Sakura. Sure she was a bit tomboyish, and now she was as foul mouthed as any gy he had ever met, but she was still a girl! And Sai; well Sai wasn't.

He rolled over onto his stomach as he frowned, Stupid mission, why did it have to be just him and the stupid pervert anyway? I mean, he could have gone with Sakura right? But perhaps not… two people, infiltration… stealth… Sai was good with that… even now he was playing the part, being the artist that tried to pay their way by ding artwork where ever they went, and he was the tagalong friend… he wondered though… maybe Sakura would have been a better choice?

He looked at his arm, there was still bandages wrapped around it, though it was not nearly as sore as it used to be… not using his ninja skills… this was about the only mission he could do right now… did they give him this out of pity? Sakura was getting on a lot better with Sai now, so they would have made a good team… but even the thought of that made him depressed, and he was not sure if it was out of the thoughts of Sai getting on well with Sakura, or the other way around…

And if it was the other was around; What did that mean? He let out a large groan and sat up, at least with Sai working, he would be able to go wash without having to be naked around him. He quickly stripped and wrapped a clean towel around his waist as he made his way to the springs, He scrubbed himself in the wash room until his skin felt raw and tingly, and it was not long until he felt himself relax slightly.

The Springs were just outside, and he had been quick in washing, Maybe he would have time to relax in them before Sai got here, after all, Sai was not allowed to use his skills either, so no speed painting.

He slid the door to the side and was greeted with the winter chill, the air was biting, and it made the water of the springs seem a bit hotter then it actually was; but after easing in and waiting for a minute or two, he felt the warmth taking over him, every muscle seemed to release and he let out a contented breath as he lowered himself in further.

**Sai**

The work was not hard, it seemed that the woman had had a troublesome guest in the week previous who had destroyed the paper blinds of the women's changing area, and even though they were fixed, the paper used was plain; whereas before it had cranes and lotus flowers decorating it in a simple brush and ink style, Sai had smiled and said he cold do that no problem, and quickly demonstrated; though for him it was painfully slow, the woman was impressed enough to tell him that if he managed to finish both screens, it would cover the cost of their stay, the tea and a hot meal each, He had thanked her profusely and started work on them as soon as she left

The work was slow and monotonous for him, purely because he knew he could finish something like this in seconds, but it did give him time to think; there was definitely something wrong with Naruto, but he was having a hard time figuring it out, and not for the first time did he that Sakura was here to help him. It was frustrating! But as ever, he kept calm and tried to think of a logical solution…

Naruto had become colder with him from the moment he had left the villiage… what had happened just before that? He went over it in his mind… He had given Naruto his gift, made a mistake, talked to Sakura about it… Naruto had seemed okay then, but he went to search for the person trailing them… but even at the gate he had been fine… until… it was after he spoke to Sakura in such a familiar way, he had noticed Naruto frowning then…

Perhaps Naruto thought that he was interested in dating Sakura? Oh but that could not be the reason, as he had already expressed his interest in dating him, and it did not stop this detachment that Naruto had formed with him… unless…

Sai furrowed his brow slightly, the thought was disturbing, and he found he was now unable to focus on the work he was doing, in the end he relented to speeding through the last bit, resulting in him finishing an hour earlier then he had planned, but it was still acceptable, he had been working on the screens for an hour and a half already, so it was a good enough time to get the work done.

He stood up and propped the screens lightly against the wall so they would dry; before leaving and returning to the front desk to find out where his room was, he went in expecting to see Naruto in there, but apparently not, their things were placed near the rolled up futons, but no sign of him getting settled in… Sai placed his art supplies down and looked to the door… They were in a bath house, so perhaps he had already gone to wash.

And that was where he found him, After scrubbing himself, he went out to the hot spring and found Naruto there, it looked as though he was sleeping, and a small smile came to Sai's face as he noted how relaxed he looked "Is it nice Naruto?" Naruto sat bolt upright then, and you would swear Sai had slapped him with how tense he had gotten; this reaction seemed to confirm his worst thoughts and his shoulders slumped slightly, he eased himself into the water, and said nothing more. The air was heavy and even though the water was hot, it still felt cold to him…

After about ten minutes, Sai resigned to getting out of the water only to be halted with "You're going?" It was the same as back in the apartment, Naruto had stopped him, and he had lied to save himself from how awkward he had felt, but should he lie again? He wrapped his towel about his waist and nodded. "Yes… you do not want me here" He said nothing else, and Naruto did not stop him from leaving after that; and that was more painful then leaving.

**Naruto**

He watched him leave and felt much the worse for it; He knew he should have stopped him from going, but Sai was right; he didn't want him there, but the pained look on Sai's face as he left was eating Naruto up inside. It was all so very stupid, he kept thinking it over and over again, stupid stupid stupid! Why? Why was he suddenly so uncomfortable around him, it was not like Sai was doing anything different, but it was how he was seeing them…

And did it matter? Sai was gay… he was not, Sai understood that, he even said so… So why did he feel so weird now? Naruto looked at his hands as though they were the cause of it, and frowned deeply when they offered him no solution in recompense, He knew he could not stay out here forever, but going in meant facing Sai again… and right now… right now he would rather face down Gamabunta then go into that room…

And so he stayed in the comforting warmth of the pool and listened to the sounds around him, after a while he noticed the soft croaking of a frog, and turning his head he looked to it through sleepy eyes… "I guess I should go back in huh frog?" He was greeted with a croak as his reply, but the frog seemed to be giving him a, 'you are talking to a frog, what do you expect me to say?' look; Resignedly he rose from the water, dried himself off and went inside.

He expected to find Sai asleep, or at least he had hoped too, but instead the boy was drawing, and he did not even turn to look at him when he entered. Naruto looked away from him and began to unroll his bed in silence, but just as he was done Sai spoke "I have been trying to think of what I have done to make you so unhappy Naruto-kun, it has taken me some time to figure it out, and I suppose I got ahead of myself, I had assumed, seeing as you had been so friendly with me… that we had formed a bond of friendship of our own, it was presumptuous of me to assume I could be so familiar with you, I am sorry; I will try to give you more space"

Naruto just stared at the back of his head with his eyes wide; where the hell had that come from?! Why would he even think that? Just because he wasn't talking to him for a day, did he think everything they had gone through together as a team already meant nothing? "Sai you Dumb Shit! Why the fuck would you even say that you asshole!"

Naruto felt all the guilt he had been feeling turn into anger, it stated to bubble up inside him, and he moved over to the pale haired bastard with full intentions to punch him square in the Jaw, but even as he crossed the room, he began to notice how defeated Sai looked, and then the boy began shaking his head "I don't understand… I am really no good at understanding these things at all… I can not find the cause of this tension… I thought it was because I had been affectionate with you, so I tired to stop, and you told me that I was wrong, but when I resumed my affections, you drew away from me, You began to get angry at me when I told you Sakura had helped me, I had thought you were mad as I had grown closer to Sakura, but as you already know that it means nothing, I knew that could not be the case…"

Sai turned to face him, and the look of helplessness on his face was almost endearing "the only thing left, was that I had grown to close to both of you, I know I am just a place holder in team seven till you recover Sasuke, and so perhaps you thought I was over familiar…"

This time Naruto did punch him; not too hard, but enough to redden his cheek "that is why you are a dumbass Sai. Do you think I can not be friends with the both of you? This pulling away crap isn't something you did idiot, it's because I can't figure out why the hell I am getting all jittery about you okay! So stop over thinking and just... just…"

Naruto wasn't even sure how he wanted to finish that sentence, and he ended up sitting down beside Sai and closing his eyes… "Sorry…" He let out a soft breath and folded his legs so he was sitting in the lotus position "I guess I didn't even think about you getting upset… but… really… I just need to figure this out okay?" Sai had sat back up and Naruto could feel him reposition himself slightly, and so he opened his eyes to see Sai looking at him curiously, and their it was again, the jittery feeling in his stomach, Sai tilted his head slightly and spoke a bit softer then "figure what out?"

Naruto frowned and looked away a bit…. How could he explain this to someone who didn't even understand his own feelings? "Sai… it's like… I like girls yeah?" Sai was nodding in response to that and so Naruto continued "and you are not a girl" Sai once more nodded to this "Well yes, because I have a Pen-" Naruto cut him off quickly "YES; Well; I have been feeling weird since you said you liked me Sai, which is crazy, because you are a guy okay, so I am trying to figure it out alright?"

Naruto stammered the last part out in a fluster, but he did not expect to hear a calm reply of "My book says that if you feel flustered, self conscious, jittery and embarrassed around someone, it means you like them. it goes on to say that if being around them makes you feel happier, then you might consider them as a possible partner… is that how you feel Naruto?" The blond could only stare at him dumbfoundedly, had he not heard the part where he said he liked girls?

"Sai… you are not a girl, so how could I like you like that?" This seemed to only cause more confusion to the pale boy, as he replied easily with "But… I have slept with women before…" Naruto's eyes would have gotten even wider if it was possible, and he blustered out "But you said you like me.. Sai this better not be another dickless joke or by god I will murder you!" Sai actually smiled at that and was shaking his head a bit "No, But I am confused, I did not realise that I had to choose what gender I am meant to like… is it not allowed to like both?"

Naruto could only blink stupidly at that comment, and it opened a whole big bag of worms he did not even want to consider, but in the end he was just shaking his head a bit… "Sai… I have never liked any guys before, so it's not possible okay… I think it is just something stupid… like you being the first person to confess to me or something… so… So don't go reading into it okay?" But Sai was not looking at him anymore, and Naruto turned to see a masked man standing at the window; Sai stood and opened it, and Naruto stood also, they were expecting the man to find them at around this time, but the timing was bad, and Naruto found himself instantly disliking the man as soon as he said "Or you could just Kiss him and find out for sure"


	6. A bit slow on the uptake

**Naruto**

Of all the things to say! Naruto felt himself growing beat red and he stood back from the window with his fist trembling by his side in pure effort to restrain himself from shouting at this man. How long had he been listening? How much had he heard? And just how did he come up with that solution?! It was clear that the Anbu was amused, as he was chuckling; what kind of Anbu chuckles anyway? Sai had moved away to heat up some water for tea, Leaving Naruto alone with the man

"How long will you be here?" Naruto wanted rid of him as soon as he could, at least until the man spoke in a suggestive tone "Oh? Are you eager to get rid of me so you can take up my suggestion?" Naruto once again went a nice shade of plum, and the chuckling was not unnoticed by Sai "When I try to tease Naruto in such a manner, it results in him getting angry at me, or calling me a pervert…" The dark haired boy was looking at Naruto as he said this "The books I had been reading told me that it was a normal social interaction between male friends to joke about there Penises and also to insinuate that they might like the same gender if they do something that might warrant it… But my attempts caused conflict, Perhaps it is not a good interaction to take with Naruto"

Naruto could only nod his head as Sai coolly explained something he had never fully understood, but should have known all along "Yeah, lay off the jokes" Naruto moved over to Sai then to get the cups ready, and the Anbu moved over to a futon that Sai had laid out and sat on it. "Who said I am joking?" Naruto gripped the cup he was holding so hard that if not for Sai coughing lightly, he might have crushed it in his hand, Naruto then chose to ignore the other man in the room and focused on Sai "I always wondered where you got your idea's for interacting with us from… I mean, I knew you read stuff, but I mean, were do you even get those books?"

Sai poured three cups of tea and smiled to him while answering "From the library" This elicited a groan from the blond who followed his friend over to the futons and purposely glared at the masked man in the room, Sai smiled to the other man and produced the map he had constantly been studying as of late. "Do you have a code name we can use?" The masked man nodded to them and simply said "Preacain" Naruto made a face to this also and Sai just nodded, "We have another Two weeks of travel left, but we have already been noticed by four different parties, One was observing me as I worked on the first panel I was painting today, though he left after half an hour, another had been following us up until two days ago and then went ahead, The third has gone ahead also, I expect to find road block on route that lead away from our destination"

The Anbu was nodding and pointed at the Map "Yes, I would assume as much also, they will try to lead you into a trap, I would suggest though, that you try and take this route here, that will lead you away to a different major city. It will draw any suspicion of a set up away from you" Sai was nodding to this but Naruto was frowning and before they could move on, he spoke up "You said four people Sai… who is the fourth one?" Sai looked at Naruto and then back to Preacain who was slowly sipping his tea in a half raised mask "I am unsure, I believe it is the same person that had been trailing us in the village earlier, but they are more cautious now, anyway, they do not seem a threat for the time being, though they could become a problem if they were to reveal us"

The Anbu seemed to pick up on what Sai was saying and lowered his mask "I will go and deal with him…" But just as he was a bout to move away, he staggered slightly to the side "Ah yes, I must apologise for this, but I have found it necessary to poison you" Naruto's eyes widened and he looked down at his own cup, he had been right beside Sai when they were making the tea, and he had not seen him do anything out of the ordinary "I am sure you understand, I could not be sure of your identity and as the fourth party following us is quiet skilled, it is only fitting that I take steps, and you have yet to show us proof of your identity"

The Man took his seat again, whether by choice or not was unclear, but he slowly reached a hand inside his shirt and pulled out a necklace that Naruto recognised instantly "Hey, that's mine! You better be careful with it" This seemed to be enough for Sai though, and he handed the man a small clear vile "Perhaps you should open with that first, rather than advice for Naruto's confusion" Preacain swallowed the liquid and after a minute or two, spoke up with a shaky voice "Well; I had intended on testing to see if you had grown dull since joining Kakashi's team…. Clearly… you have not"

Naruto was still looking at his own tea and then looked at Sai still drinking his own "Sai, mine isn't poisoned too is it?" Sai laughed softly and shook his head a bit "No Naruto, Now… it will take some minutes for the Poison to wear off, so perhaps you can show me the summoning contract?" Naruto just watched at the two formed the temporary bond that would be in place until the mission was finished. He knew about these things himself, but it had been decided that Sai would make the connection as he had not bound himself to anything else, and so it would not weaken the chance of success.

They talked for a while on the mission and what this anbu knew of it, which turned out to be as much as they did, and then Naruto thought on something else. "Hey, Why are you still wearing your mask?" Sai looked at Naruto and then back to Precain who just answered matter of factly "I forget sometimes, that you don't know the inner systems of Ninja ranking… You know ask you gain ranks you gain responisibities right?" Naruto nodded to this, but was a bit annoyed at how the man was implying he was stupid "Well, becoming an Anbu has its own set of rules, for instance, not having an identity that is set in stone, when we wear this mask, nothing of the man remains, just the Anbu. And it is our duty to keep it as such, even amongst Comrades, until such a time as we are given permission to remove the mask, much like your companion here."

Naruto looked at Sai, he had almost forgotten that the pale boy was once a part of root, and an anbu… "you were given permission?" Sai smiled and nodded to Naruto "Yes, and a name to use" This information cause Naruto's eyes to widen; a name? did that mean? But… "Your name is not really Sai?" To this Sai shook his head; though he looked confused as to why Naruto was so taken back by it. "I have had many names, though Sai is the first I have kept after a mission had ended"

This however was not good enough, and Naruto slammed his cup down "Dammit Sai! Or.. Or whatever you name is! You are meant to tell us these things! What the hell is your real name!?" Naruto seemed really angry and for his part, Sai was more confused then ever "I… don't have a real name" Naruto looked astonished and then whipped back to Preacain "I suppose you are going to say you don't have a real name either!" The Anbu just chuckled and shook his head slightly "I do have one, but I cannot say it, Sai is a special case, Danzo's training, from the little intelligence we have of it, starts from a very early age… this member we believe was kidnapped when he was three years old"

It was Sai's turn to look shocked "Kidnapped?" The Anbu was nodding as he flexed his fingers. "it was not unheard of, plenty of children were left orphaned, and plenty more went missing, the major wars were just over, and with the village still mourning the death of the fourth, children disappearing was the least of their worries… Though you may have come from any number of orphanages, it is doubtful you were simply adopted… in a way Naruto… Sai's life could easily have been the one you might have lead too, if Danzo had had his way of it… we know he showed interest in taking you in as a child, but all attempts were stopped… Anyway… I seem to have recovered"

As the man stood, so also did Sai "I trust you will determine the threat" it was a statement more then a question, and the Anbu just nodded slightly, he moved to the window and opened it, that was when Naruto stopped him "H-Hey, you're not… not gonna tell anyone about this are you?" The man faced Naruto and remained silent for a moment… "About…. The mission? No… About Sai poisoning me? Certainly not… About you wondering if you are Gay however…" A certain amount of panic flooded Naruto's features and it was all the man could do not to laugh "Relax Naruto, I won't tell, you really are as hot headed as always"

This comment got Naruto moving, he followed the man to the window while saying "As always? Do… do I know you?" The Anbu hopped up to the ledge of the now open window and shrugged " I couldn't tell you, but I know you. See you around trouble" And with that he was gone, leaving Sai and Naruto alone again, but what might have been an awkward moment, was eased by one soft uttering from Sai. "I wonder if I might have a family? It had not occurred to me till now that I was kidnapped, all my memories are of the compounds, perhaps I should look into it after we return."

He was doing it again, saying things that made it feel like his heart was breaking for him, though this time, Naruto knew the pain too "Yeah… I always wondered who my parents were as well, but no one could tell me when I asked… maybe we will have better luck finding yours right?" Sai was tilting his head slightly, but then just smiled "Yes, thank you, that would be an appropriate bonding task between friends" Naruto grunted at this and went over to his futon grumbling "Just say it is nice or something Sai, sometimes you are so weird" Sai seemed to consider this, and then turned out the lights "Good night Naruto"

It was a fair while after they had settled down that Naruto spoke again "Hey Sai?" it was a second or two before a sleepy murmer replied, but it was enough for Naruto to continue "Do you think he was right though?" Sai yawned a bit and just nodded, not really knowing what Naruto was referring too, but as he was half asleep, it seemed the fitting response, the only problem was, Naruto did not see it "Sai?…" Sai rolled over and blinked his eyes blearily, trying to follow what Naruto was saying, what time was it anyway? He responded though, this time with words "Maybe, we can only try to find out" Sai was thought by then Naruto was speaking on him being kidnapped, and them searching; as it had been the last thing they had been talking about, and he half tuned out Naruto after that, just trying to get some sleep. " Try… but if I did though, you know it doesn't mean what he made it mean right?" The words fell on deaf ears, as Sai rolled to his back again and fell back asleep, but now Naruto's mind was buzzing.

Should he try right now? But Sai was sleeping, but maybe that was better? That way if he didn't feel anything, and Sai was asleep, then he would not remember, and things could go back to being normal without any weirdness or having to talk about it. Yes; this seemed like the best option. After another hour of just laying there, Naruto finally moved over to the pale boy, it was odd, but now that his eyes had adjusted, Sai almost looked like he was made of porcelain under the dim light, his hair seemed darker, and his skin whiter for it, and his lips… Naruto swallowed down his nerves as he lowered himself slowly.

He was shaking, and he could feel the beads of sweat forming on his brow as he got closer to Sai's slightly parted lips, he was almost there when Sai groaned slightly and turned on the futon under him, making it impossible not to complete his task, but it did cause Naruto's heart to hammer in his chest, and a shock to run over his body; Sai had almost woke up! It was then Naruto realised that if he had kissed him, Sai definitely would have woken up, and judging from the fact that he had managed to poison an Anbu in plain sight, it now dawned on Naruto that perhaps this had not been the best plan

He edged back to his own futon, trying to be as quiet as possible, all the while thinking on how stupid that had been, and why the hell was he doing it anyway? Would it really work? And what happened if he kissed him and found he liked it? What then? Still… he had time… no need to rush right? He could even wait till he got back to figure it out then right? Not like he was in a rush or anything… and there was also the other thing, did he really want his first kiss to be with Sai; real kiss that is as he did not count the two stolen ones, and what about Sai?

Would he want his first kiss to be Naruto just testing out if he would like it or not? Naruto thought about that, and he shook his head realising Sai would just go along with whatever he said without question, seeing as he already told him he had… slept with…girls… Naruto's eyes widened and he sat up straight and pointed to Sai and said in a voice that was FAR too loud for that time of night "YOU'VE ALREADY SLEPT WITH SOMEONE!?"


	7. Harsh Reality

Things are starting to get a bit darker now, hinting at the future tone this story will take, warning for you now, if you can not tolerate this, you might want to turn away from future chapters R+R always welcome!

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Sai would never complain generally, he just tended to go with the flow, but he would admit that even he was somewhat irritated by Naruto's wake up call, not to mention the subject; did it really matter that he had slept with someone before? Or in fact that that someone, was a woman? To him it made no difference, but apparently it was a big deal to the blond who was now making him sit up and explain the details.

"Naruto… can it not wait till the morning, we have to set off early, I really want to sleep…" Naruto was shaking his head while he paced the floor, Sai did not seem to know what the big deal was, but he just stifled a yawn and stretched a bit… "Well… boil some water and I will explain" Naruto did not waste time in boiling up some water, and Sai rolled onto his belly and sleepily pushed himself into a sitting position, his hair was tussled and his eyes heavy, but he did not feel the need to groom himself at that moment, and so settled for just running his hand through his hair.

That was the sight that Naruto turned to, and the boy almost dropped the cups he was holding, what in the high hells was he doing looking at him like that? But it was beyond a doubt, sleepy Sai looked really good, and lowering his head, Naruto just handed him a cup and sat across from him "Sai, you don't mean to tell me you… you… I mean, with a woman…. And… you… you're not that old" in response to this, Sai seemed to look confused, but he replied none the less "I was 16 when I was first assigned the task to gather information from a noble woman through any means, after getting close to her, I deemed in necessary to instigate a more intimate relationship with this woman so to gather more intel on her husband who we believed to be an informant to the wave country"

Naruto's eyes widened as he realised what Sai was saying, he lost his virginity on a mission, and it was not like it was really a choice, it was just… just on orders… and then another thing hit him "Wait… the first time. You mean there was more than one time?" Sai frowned a bit from Naruto's reaction to what he had said, but he replied to the question with one of his own "Well… of course. Did you never have to sleep with a target on a mission?" This got Naruto's jaw dropping; he ended up shaking his head slowly in disbelief as he realised what Sai was saying "No Sai… No… we… Kids don't go on missions like that, I don't think anyone does… did… I mean… did you not even know any of them? like them?"

Sai was just looking at him as he was trying to figure out why Naruto seemed so upset over this, for Sai, it had been duty, he never considered it to be a bad thing, but now as he watched Naruto's concern for him, a realisation began to hit home that perhaps it was not a normal thing after all, and to this he furrowed his brow and looked down " No… it was just duty… There was an attraction to some, but I never thought of it as anything more then an objective… is that incorrect?"

Naruto was still shaking his head slightly and he felt as though he was about to cry, did this kind of thing really happen all the time, was he just naive? Or was it just that Sai really did just get involved in a horrid organisation by chance… if Danzo had have gotten his way, would he have had the same upbringing? Naruto looked at Sai now, and realized he had not answered the question "Well… I don't really know Sai… I suppose it's just, well… I was never made do things like that, and those things… that… well… they are meant to be special" Naruto could feel his cheek growing red again, but he was thinking of how he used to fantasise about Sakura, though back then it would only be innocent things like kisses…

In truth, even now it was still pretty innocent, he never really considered anything more with her, though he would still like her to be his girlfriend he knew, but… it was something he also knew would not happen; Suddenly a wave of depression seemed to hit him and he spoke more to the ground this time, than to Sai "I guess, it's okay, if you didn't know better Sai… but things like that are meant to be with special people…"

The next few moments seemed to be a bit of a blur, Naruto could not really tell what came over him, but he knew it started when Sai had moved from his futon to sit beside him, he had hugged him while saying "I read in a book that a hug can be an act of comfort… I am sorry my life makes you sad Naruto, it is not my intention to do so" a pain dragged over Naruto when Sai said that, and he realised that his companion was not as ignorant about his feelings as he had once thought, Sai was trying, Really REALLY trying, and it was only now that Naruto grasped how brainwashed the boy was… to think that it was okay to be used like that… it… it was beyond his scope of comprehension, and despite the fact that it should be him comforting Sai; Sai still put him first.

He turned and blue eyes looked to obsidian, Sai trusted him, fully and completely trusted him, something that Naruto could not say in return, and that just caused another wave of guilt to run over him, and without even thinking on it too much, Naruto gripped the other to him, and held him in a full proper hug, squeezing his eyes closed as he did so "N-naruto?" Sai's voice sounded a bit confused, and Naruto supposed he would not blame him for it, but he just shook his head against the boys shoulders and blinked back the tears that were threatening to escape.

"I… Sai, I won't let anyone do anything like that to you again. I promise!" He balled his fists up into Sai's shirt as he said it, and he felt himself trembling, and Sai pulled back so he could look at him "Naruto… it is okay… I did not mind…" Sai trailed off though as he seen the hurt on Naruto's face, so he just nodded "Okay Naruto… thank you" Naruto though furrowed his brow then and looked away, when he woke Sai up he had been so angry at the thought of him being with a girl before him; now? Now he felt so angry at root for using him… he would never let that happen again. Never! "Naruto… we should get some rest, we need to leave early tomorrow…"

Naruto did not seem to register that Sai was laying down on his futon, nor that he was curling beside him, but in the end, they ended up sleeping side by side, and with Sai's arm laying over his chest, Naruto had to admit, it was one of the most peaceful sleeps he had had in a very long time

**Meanwhile outside**

There was things you learned when you ran solo missions, how to spy, how to blend, how to sleep at night, it was something though, that took years of training though, and experience, perhaps for the first two years you went without sleep, just taking it sparingly, but always on the edge of consciousness. Soon though, you developed other skills, skills to hide entirely, sleeping becomes easy then, as does spying.

This was something; As Preacain discovered, that Sasuke had not mastered. The solitary ninja had found himself a high branch, and though there was a nook to hide in for the most part, it was not enough to conceal him, so when Preacain landed on the branch near him, he just raised a brow, he dipped down and cut the last trap with a fluid movement, and then and only then did he let his wires loose.

The Uchiha woke just in time to feel the wires biting into his skin, there was nothing he could do to evade them, but he was sure that he could think of something, he flicked his wrist, and just as the head of a snake began to protrude from his sleeve, a kunai impaled it and it's sister through the head. "Uchiha Sasuke… not the person I would have thought to see out here, from our latest intel, you had murdered Orochimaru, though you did not return to konoha… this marks you, I should bring you back, I might get a nice reward"

Sasuke did not respond for a while, but just stared at the man, though he was looking, or seemed to be looking directly at him, it would be easy to capture him in an illusion, But no matter how he stared at that mask; nothing seemed to be changing "It won't work Sasuke, not if I don't look at you directly, you are not as skilled as Itachi just yet" This seemed to get a reaction out of the boy, as he tried and failed to lunge at the man, the wires biting in ever deeper as a result.

"Oh, that seems to have hit home, but you should take it easy, I did after all say, I should bring you back… but I am more interested in finding out just what you want with Naruto?" Sasuke fell back into his nook and half growled "I want nothing with him" The Anbu just chuckled and sat down before him, a smile forming on hidden lips "Oh dear, then you just happened to be travelling in the same direction? And purposely spying on them from a distance by chance?" The answer to that was silence, and it just brought about another laugh, this seemed to cause Sasuke more irritation, and he eventually 'tched' and looked to the side "So he knew"

"Sai knew you were following yes, but he did not realise who it was, otherwise, I doubt he would have let you live this time" "THIS TIME!" The restrained ninja pulled against the wires and fresh blood began to stain his clothes, but Preacain did not even flinch, not even as one of the wires snapped, Sasuke found himself freed only to be then slammed to the ground, the added speed and distance of the height the had fallen from, it resulted in a sickening crack as his arm twisted under him.

"Sai, he was an Anbu before you even took your chunin exams, He managed to fool Orochimaru to sneak into your hideout, managed to defy Danzo who had brainwashed all his subordinates, and he even managed to go against the will of Konoha by letting you live, all for the promise of making Naruto happy" The Anbu pressed down harder on the ninja under him and it got a whimper out of him "Sai let you live, on a whim, did it ever occur to you that he uses Snakes in his capture… what did you think would have happened if one of those snakes bit you… oh Kabuto is good, but he was not so skilled as to neutralize a fast acting poison like the ones Sai uses, and even if he was that good, he still would have had to reach you in time…"

The man released Sasuke slowly and backed away from him "I am not here to take you down Sasuke, perhaps if you had been some unknown, I would have killed you, but Naruto really believes he can save you… and I am beginning to think he is right, he just might be the one to save us all" Sasuke stood clutching to his twisted arm, he was glaring to the anbu, but did not bother to use any techniques this time "Save us? Naruto?" his eyebrows raised to this and he just shook his head "you are as much of a weak fool as he is" That familiar chuckle came out again and Sasuke took a deep breath in irritation. "Naruto is not weak, he is stronger then you" It was Sasuke's turn to laugh and he half screamed back to the man "Strong?! Naruto isn't Strong! I know what he is! He is nothing more then a monster!"

The Anbu was just shaking his head this time "what kind of monster saves people Sasuke? Naruto did not choose to have the fox placed in him, but when he found out, he didn't use the power to hurt others... only to help them. Yet you, you chased down power, became something else all in effort to get revenge on the murderer of your Clan, you changed yourself and sold your very life to attain this, cutting down friends in effort to do so… and you call Naruto the monster? Don't make me laugh, you are nothing more then a spoiled brat; not the legacy that the Uchiha should have. Maybe you should watch them some more, you could learn a thing or too"

A puff of smoke was all that was left then, and Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration, he popped his shoulder back into place and bit back the scream that wanted to tear from his throat to that action. He furrowed his brow to the man as he thought on the words, and he felt as though he would leave, just to spite him. But the man was right, there was something he wanted to learn, and it was not how much of a monster he was or Naruto wasn't!


	8. Unexpectedly Nice

_A/N You know, it is amazing what a review can do! one minute I am too tired to do anything, next minute I am inspired and staying up till four am to finish the next chapter of this, and half of 'to the dance'_

_you guys really are what keeps me going! thanks!_

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It was Naruto's turn to try this time, He was watching Sai in a way that he had never done before, analyzing him and what he was doing, noticing anytime Sai thought he was not looking, or asleep, he would write in a book while he would read from one of the ones he bought with him, it occurred to him later that Sai was comparing the situations with things that had happened to him earlier that day, seeing if he had reacted properly, it had never dawned on him just how emotionally stunted Sai was, and just how hard the boy was trying to 'fix' himself.

It made Naruto view him in a different light altogether, and as he did so, things that he would have once thought annoying or just weird, suddenly began to seem endearing and cute, the latest one being as they were cooking and they began to talk "Yo Sai, how did you get so good at cooking?" Sai who had been grinding some herbs between two flattened stones just looked at him and smiled "Well, you know my mother was sick when I was a child,, so I had time to learn" Naruto seemed to be confused at this, but Sai shunted over to him and took his hand, holding it out flat as he began to write to the palm of it.

"She used to take my hand like this, and spell things out for me, because she could not speak well" Naruto was furrowing his brow to this lie, but then he noted what Sai was spelling 'there are two people in the trees behind us, we have been trailed for the last hour' Naruto's eyes widened and he was about to turn to look, but Sai distracted him by squeezing his hand, this was when Naruto looked at the hands, Sai had drawn it down and he was just holding it, and though Naruto's first instinct was to pull away sharply, he stopped himself and drew it back slowly. "You're mother must have been close to you… Writing on hands, or holding hands like that is a very intimate thing to do…"

Sai's cheeks gained a faint hint of colour, and it was the first time Naruto noticed him getting embarrassed, his eyes that seemed so innocent now had widened, and it boggled Naruto to think that this boy was in any way experienced in ways of seducing women… or… or men… that was another thing that had been on Naruto's mind recently also, Sai had said people, he had slept with people on missions, not just women, and he also questioned as to whether he was meant to pick a gender, meaning he did not choose on the sex of a person… only on the compatibility… and when he thought about that, it seemed like such a wonderful way to love someone.

But he didn't think it could ever be something he would be able to do, He moved away from Sai then, cleaning some mushrooms they had found as an excuse for the action, and then Sai spoke softly "I lost my mother when I was young, and she had always been sick, so I guess she could not explain these things to me… but You didn't have parents either Naruto …sometimes I wonder… why our lives turned out so different" Naruto looked at him, He knew what Sai was really saying, and he just lowered his gaze, Naruto despite having a hard childhood, he still had some people around him that cared… Sai had had nothing… "Sai, I was an Orphan, but I had people around me, you were alone after your… your mother died… you had to learn how to fend for yourself, and you didn't have people around you to learn from, all you had was your paintings right?... So… don't worry about not getting things right, I will help you okay?"

Naruto knew he had to keep up the cover story, but it was hard to say things clearly without saying them… well clearly, but it seemed Sai understood and he just smiled "I am glad to have met you Naruto, you really have saved me" Naruto felt that strange feeling again, not just happiness, but almost an excitement bubbling in the pit of his stomach, it was something he could not really explain, or if he could, he wanted to deny it, but Sai it seemed was oblivious to it, and even the blush on Naruto's cheeks went by without comment

It was two more nights of camping out like this before they began down the road away from there destination, and that was when the re-routing began to happen, first there was a fallen tree, this was a hindrance, but no real biggy, as Naruto struggled over it; well at least pretended to struggle over it, and aided Sai in doing the same, By the time they got to the other side of it, they were both laughing about how difficult it had been, and while they did not say it out loud, they both knew it was more funny because they could have easily jumped it.

Next came the rock pile, this had both Sai and Naruto looking at it with tilted heads "Wow… I didn't think there was any hills around here to cause this?" Sai looked at him and then to the map "Isn't this the fire country? They have Ninja right?" Naruto looked at Sai this time, and he got a huge grin on his face, knowing what was going on "I always wanted to see a Ninja!" This time Sai looked at him deadpan and shook his head "Naruto, don't be an idiot, you don't see ninja! They can hide and stuff!" Sai was getting better at using slang words, and this time Naruto felt comfortable playing along with being the idiot, he scrambled up on one of the lower rocks and began doing air punches

"Yeah but, still! If I were a ninja, I would be all 'whutaa' and break these blocks away with my ninja powers!" Sai Scrambled up to the rock with Naruto and then up the next one and began to look past the obstruction "Not all ninja's can blow away rocks… at least I don't think they can, but I hear they can jump pretty high… Hey… I hear you can hire one on big towns, maybe if I save enough, we can hire one to… do something for us? Do you think you can just hire them for no real reason?"

Naruto was having fun now playing the ignorant and he just shrugged his shoulders "I dunno, how many painting do you think you would have to sell for that?" Sai was climbing back down as he said he didn't know and Naruto crouched down to look at him "Hey, shouldn't we be going forward? Not back" Sai reached the ground then and pulled out his map again "Well… if there are Ninja fighting around here… there might be more things blocking this road? And if we keep going only to find something we can't climb over, it will just mean we will have to double back and reclimb all the things we had to climb over just to get where we were stopped… come here."

Naruto purposely stumbled and landed hard beside Sai, rubbing his back as he did so, and then looked to the map Sai was holding out, Sai made a show of pointing out that there was a different town they could go too instead, it was about the same distance anyway, As this was being explained, Naruto heard a very quiet 'got them' in the trees up the steep slopes to the side of them, though he made sure not to look, but it turned out just the way they had thought it would, and now because of the little show they had put on, it seemed that their pursuers had become less cautious of them.

After a while they stopped tracking them, and on the seventh day they had come across an Inn, it was when they were inside that Sai told him that they were not being followed by the ones that planned on kidnapping them. Being inside was nice, it offered a lot more privacy for one thing, and though Naruto had begun cleaning himself again, he was still conscious of Sai looking at him, though Sai in turn seemed to be picking up on it, so when they went to get a room, Sai had asked if they had more then one available, and that he could work to pay off any bill. Naruto had almost let him too, but then shook his head and explained that it was alright and that one room would be okay, the woman had given him a look and he quickly said, with two beds.

Sai of course was not bothered by this, but when they reached the room, he looked at

Naruto in a slightly confused way "I had thought you would be happier to have a separate room, I noticed that you seem to want to hide from me to do more personal things like washing and relieving yourself, I looked this up, and it said that if someone is behaving like that, they are uncomfortable with you, or they are shy, seeing as you were not shy before, it leaves only that you are uncomfortable around me"

Naruto wanted to burn those books Sai had right now, but he could not deny him, as he had spoken the truth… to an extent " Well, its more… it's like… I dunno what you are looking at now, before I didn't know you were… were…" Sai seemed to comprehend what he was trying to say and finished the sentence "Interested in sleeping with you" Though how he finished was more then Naruto was ready for, and he went as bright red as he had ever been in a long time, Sai could not fail to notice this and he frowned

"I said this to Sakura and she already explained that you would not be interested, I never thought it would be a problem like this though… if it assures you, I do not … what was the word…? Ogle you when you are undressed." It did and did not reassure Naruto, and he suddenly felt the topic was not something he wanted to speak on, and he quickly went to make tea, and that was when the curve ball came… "Naruto… I am surprised by how uncomfortable you are when we speak of Sex… are you a virgin?"

The blond spun and just stared at him, his mouth was flapping like a fish, and he looked to the window half expecting the masked bastard to be standing there laughing, but he wasn't, and Sai was still looking at him, waiting… "Well… I…. in a way…" A look of consideration came across the pale boys face and he became thoughtful "Is it common for boys of my age to be experienced?" This question was easier to answer, and Naruto shook his head resolutely "No Sai… Well… Maybe, but not… I dunno, I mean you're what? 17?" "18" Sai corrected him "Okay 18 right? So maybe some might have been…like with someone… but… its not like it is something that you just do whenever… I haven't had a girlfriend…"

Sai nodded and then began to unpack "But the books Kakashi gave me were wrote by the person you travelled with right?" Naruto knew where this was going and he just sighed "Yeah… but… well, those women were old, and none of them really liked him, and I wasn't interested in any of them…" Sai took this at it's word and began stripping down to get ready for his shower, leaving Naruto alone then for a while.

But once again, it got him thinking, just why had he not been with a girl before? It was not like he had not met some pretty ones while he was travelling… and some had even seemed interested now that he thought back on it, but he had been so focused on training that he had not even thought about anything else… was that strange? What about the others… now that he was really analyzing it, what if he was the only one that had not been with someone? He was seventeen now, and though he was away training, the rest of his friends weren't… He began thinking of some of them in order

First up… Chougi… well, he didn't seem likely to have been with anyone, so he marked him as a no go.

Ino was pretty… and she seemed pretty eager with Sai, so maybe she had been? Naruto blushed as he thought on that, and put her down as a maybe.

The next in the team was Shikamaru, Naruto smiled as he shook his head chalking him up as a definite no… but then he remember the girl from the sand, Temari… they had seemed really close… and she seemed the type that would be able to boss him around too… Naruto swallowed a bit and struck Shikamaru down as a yes.

This got him thinking then in terms of the chunin exams, After Shikamaru, he thought of Gaara, the now kazekage had had a lot of girls screaming for him, so he begrudgingly put him down as a yes too.

Neji… that was another yes.

Hinata… she seemed to be Shy, so maybe not.

Kiba, maybe yes

Shino… No

Kankuro… Yes

Lee, Naruto decided that Lee should be a no, seeing as he wanted to be with Sakura.

Sakura… he… he hoped not

And that brought him to Sasuke… and while he would first say no.. he then thought about Sai and how he was made to do things… and suddenly he was not so sure…

All in all, by the time Sai had returned to the room, Naruto felt that perhaps he was far too inexperienced in comparison to his friends, and it was frustrating; So much so that when Sai sat down to dry off his hair, Naruto had already sat down across from him, he waited till Sai noticed him looking and then said "What is it like?"

Sai seemed to be the one caught off guard this time, and he furrowed his brow as he tried to think of firstly, what the question was, and then when he figured it out, how to answer "I do not really know how to explain it…" This though was not enough for Naruto who pressed on "Well… did you even like it?" Sai lay back to the bed and frowned for a moment, and then looked back to Naruto "Most of the times it was nothing, I might have well been pleasuring myself" The mention of that made Naruto flush, but he said nothing, not really knowing why he had asked in the first place, but now that he had, he really wanted to know… "But… there was a girl, She was sweet and she had looked after me for three weeks while I was pretending to be sick, I had been assigned to assassinate an informant in her village and during the infiltration I grew fond of her…"

Sai looked back to the ceiling as he continued, and Naruto noticed a change in his tone as he spoke "When I slept with her, it was not out of duty, and she made me feel almost human…" He closed his eyes and placed his hands over his stomach, a small smile was gracing his lips as he continued "it felt… it felt like there would be nothing more important to me than her, and when I was inside her… I felt complete"

Naruto was shifting slightly as Sai spoke, it was uncomfortable to hear him say he was inside some girl so easily, but at same time, the way he said it made it seem…. Well, romantic, and so he asked softly "Where is she now?" And in reply Sai issued a soft sad breath and sat up to look at him… "I wish I had met you sooner… perhaps then I might have negated on my mission and she would be alive…"

The words sank in slowly and Naruto felt a wave of sadness flood over him like he had never felt before… Sai had killed her… but… but he had loved her, it was obvious from how he spoke… was his training really that harsh… and if it was… had he really had that much of an effect on Sai? Sai seemed to see the sudden wave of depression come over Naruto and he just smiled to him.

"It is alright Naruto, she was a traitor, so it is better this way" Blue eyes just looked to Sai, and it was clear that Sai did think that was the truth, but there was also the faintest look of regret in his eyes, and Naruto found himself shaking his head slightly, though if he thought about it, if Sai had met him earlier, and he had debunked on his mission, would that have branded Sai as a traitor too? Would he have been chasing after two friends rather than just one?

Or would Sai have even been sent out on those types of missions at all? Certainly since he had joined team 7, it had only been general missions he had gone on, no assassinations or the like… perhaps in a way, he had saved Sai from all that… but it didn't seem enough… Sai had lost so much, and it seems he was not even aware of it… And now that they were travelling together, Sai seemed to be figuring out for himself just how bad his life had been… and Naruto began to wonder if that was a good thing?

If Sai had remained the same… he would not have that faint look of hurt on his features, or that touch of sadness to his smile… Naruto gave that to him, and suddenly he did not know how to feel about it… he looked away from Sai and just lay to his bed before speaking "Do you ever wish you had not been assigned to our team Sai?" Naruto did not know if he wanted to hear the answer, but he asked anyway, yet the reply took longer than he expected

"I have wondered about this before… without these conflicting emotions, missions would be easy, but… I would just be a puppet. With you, I feel alive" Naruto turned his head to look at Sai, but found the boy had moved, and was now in the kitchen finishing the tea Naruto had forgotten about, he stood to follow him, but as he reached his side, he faltered, Sai had a look on his features that just seemed so, at peace, and Naruto found himself smiling despite the previous conversation, and When Sai handed him his cup, his hand overlapped the paler one and he held it there for a moment.

"I am glad you are with us Sai… I can't change the things that happened to you… but…" The smile on Sai's face made him stop, Sai seemed to be amused about something and before Naruto could ask, Sai voiced it "You said something like this before… last week in the Spa… you really do care for your friends Naruto… I will try to be like you… I will try to help you too"

Naruto was aware that his cup was moved to the counter with the aid of Sai, he was aware also that he moved closer to Sai without really thinking on it, but mostly, he was aware of how soft Sai's touch was against his cheeks, and how his stomach began to twist as Sai tilted his head and closed the gap between them, and how… not weird it felt to be kissed by him.

That was what he noticed the most, and though the kiss was short, it lingered, and he opened his eyes, not realising he had closed them in the first place…he began to form a question, but once more Sai was talking "You tried to kiss me that night… What Preacain said to you seemed to linger, but you did not seem to be able to go through with your intentions… I hope this helps you Naruto"

Sai took his tea and moved over to his bed and began writing, leaving Naruto in the kitchen, Naruto felt paralyzed for the moment, but eventually took up his tea and slowly made his way over to his bed… he didn't look at Sai for a long time, but when he did… he was not sure what he was meant to do… or say… he was not even sure of what had happened, but eventually his brain seemed to catch up to him and his eyes widened… "You were awake all that time?" Sai looked at him as he spoke and smiled softly "Did you really think I would not notice someone leaning close to me breathing heavy?"

Naruto frowned then and furrowed his brow a bit "Then why did you pretend to be asleep?" Sai laughed slightly "I tend to always be half aware, I knew you were there… but I was still resting… besides, if it helped you, I would not have cared… Did it help?" it was Naruto's turn to look thoughtful now, and after a while he shook his head slightly "I don't know… but… it wasn't… weird like I thought it would be… I'm not sure… maybe we should sleep…" Naruto did not want to admit that it was nice, nor that he liked it, so for now, 'not weird' would do, he got under his covers and rolled to his side, they would be setting out early again… another seven days, and the mission would be starting for real…

"Goodnight Sai"

"Goodnight Naruto"


End file.
